This article was taken from the January 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
This month WIRED travels further than ever before -- to the outer limits of the Universe. Strap yourself in for an epic voyage of discovery into the innermost workings of Stephen Hawking's amazingly agile mind. Sit tight as we take you into a stellar fight among astronomers about who discovered what could be the first Earth-like planet in outer space. And marvel as we go inside Framestore, the amazing London special-effects house whose visuals recently won an Oscar for its work on the movie Gravity.
You can see Eddie Redmayne playing Stephen Hawking in cinemas this month -- but there's nothing like the thrill of meeting the man himself. Our science editor, João Medeiros, was excited when the call came to visit the professor in Tenerife in October. Hawking had to travel there by boat, as his health precludes flying, and as well as lecturing he gave WIRED time to explore his latest thinkign about the origins of the Universe -- and why he would like to play a James Bond baddie. As one of Britain's most celebrated living scientists, Hawking has a rare ability to transcend the complexity of physics to communicate big ideas in an accessible way. His answers to WIRED's questions will help you understand some of the biggest unresolved mysteries of space science. And as for the innovations that are allowing Hawking to communicate despite his physical constraints, we were fascinated to learn how far he and Intel had come in designing ways for him to speak and write.
If you missed WIRED2014, our flaship two-day event in October, and our Next Generation event to inspire teenagers, you can read about some of the key speakers in a special section in these pages.
Catch the videos of the talks too, at wired.co.uk/wired-2014.
This year, we brought together the inaugural WIRED Innovation Fellows, a dozen emerging stars in the fields from bio-science to motorcar manufacture, who we invited to London to share their storeis on our stage. We're just launching our search fro 2015's WIRED Innovation Fellows, so spread the word: we don't care how old the applicants are, where in the world they are based, whatever their background. All we're looking for are exceptional people who are changing the world in their own way, and who have already achieved a degree of success. This year, we're also partnering with The Space to award £100,000 to three digital artists who will create an artwork as part of their fellowship.
See wired.co.uk/fellows for more.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
